Official Languages Committee on Dec. 1st, 2009

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Lennox, do you have an official languages champion in Toronto?

[Toby Lennox]

A member of our customer experience staff is charged with the responsibility for carrying out official languages duties, and that is overseen by a vice-president. We also have responsibilities that involve dealing with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and that comes out of my office. So we deal with it at several levels.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

When you cite percentages, are any tests sometimes done, simply...

[An hon. member]

Blind tests.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Do you understand what I mean? Do you conduct tests from time to time? You take a walk around? You have people who walk around? Yes?

[An hon. member]

Yes.

[Rodriguez]

Mr. D'Amours.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez.

First, I'll make a comment. You, in Toronto and Vancouver, seem to be having trouble with your web sites.

That's not your case in Ottawa because you clearly said how your web site works.

So your web sites are posing problems? You admit that and you want to improve them. I've told others and I'm telling you: back home we have an organization called the CIDIF, whose work is to translate and localize web sites.

If you're interested in having someone move these kinds of files forward, let me know or contact my office. We'll be pleased to give you the contact information of these people. It is an organization funded by the federal and provincial governments. Their main duties, among many others, are the translation and localization of web sites.

[Paul Benoit]

I'm interested in that as well.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

So all three of you will contact my office.

Ms. Moore, earlier you raised one point in particular. You said you had been in this position for four weeks. However, you mentioned that, in your 32 years of service at Vancouver Airport, you were in charge of official languages at one point. Did I get that right?

[Danielle Moore]

Yes, you got it right, sir.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I was surprised to hear you say that because there seemed to be so many problems in Vancouver moving things forward in this file. Perhaps you had the good will to promote the official languages, but there was no doubt someone who set up barriers somewhere because you're not that far advanced in that regard today.

I don't know for how many years you managed official languages. Unless I'm mistaken, it appears that you wanted to move things forward. And yet, at some point, someone had to obstruct matters for things to be where they are in 2009, given such poor results a few weeks away from the Olympic Games—based solely on this example of the Olympic Games—as though it were an objective to be achieved. Ultimately, Vancouver airport should have been like the other airports, that is to say a model of bilingualism. We're panicking because of Vancouver. Someone didn't react. You may have worked very hard on the official languages plan, but some person or persons held back matters so that things are not advancing.

I'm not asking you to answer or to say that such and such a person put a crimp in your plans or such and such a thing worked poorly. Pardon me, but I have to make that observation this morning.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. D'Amours.

Mr. Godin, go ahead please.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

There is an official languages champion in Toronto, isn't there? There is one?

[Toby Lennox]

No. We have a number of people who have responsibility, and sharing occurs. It is at a number of different levels. There are 1,200 employees.

There are 42,000 people who work at the airport so we elect to divide the responsibility between interfacing with the concessionaires, etc., and dealing with the Official Languages Act and the office of the commissioner. That is how we divide it. It's a large enough portfolio to divide in two.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

At the end of the day, what if somebody comes up and says, “Look, we're not doing too good this week”? Because you don't always need to have complaints from people; you could notice it yourselves.

It's very humiliating to always have to file a complaint.

I'm going to come to you, Mr. Benoit. As I told you, I have been travelling for a long time. I mentioned 12 years, but I started travelling before that, as part of my previous jobs. Filing complaints isn't always pleasant. People are trying to do the best they can.

A few weeks ago, I went to Vancouver on Air Canada. I said I would like a sandwich and showed the person the picture, and she answered: “I don't speak French.” I used the word “sandwich”, and the picture was there. It tiring tiring; it's not fun at all. You tell me you are the champion; you're pleased with that.

I don't want to push you, but at the start of the meeting, you mentioned that, just before coming here you went to see what was going on because you wanted to know. Shouldn't you already have known what was going on, without waiting to appear before the committee? If we put the two comments together... I don't want to put words in your mouth, but put yourself in my place.

[Paul Benoit]

No.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

You're the champion at Ottawa Airport, but before coming here, you went to see how things were going in the store because you wanted to get informed.

[Paul Benoit]

We conduct constant checks. Every person summoned before this committee will look at what is going on, will do a brief review. That's perfectly normal. That's how we found that there was a deficiency.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

When you bring in immigrants because there's a shortage of workers, you are entitled to have requirements. To work on oil wells in Alberta, when you want a mechanic, you don't ask for an electrician. The same thing can be done. If someone comes because there's a shortage of labour, you can request bilingual people. That can be done.

[Paul Benoit]

You're right.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

When you bring in immigrants, you can request that. The act tells us that they have to be bilingual. We need people and we don't have people who want to leave Vanier or elsewhere to go to the airport. I don't know whether these are the requests that the franchisees make for—

[Paul Benoit]

I don't know that.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

In Vancouver, you're subject to the Official Language Act, and we can't say that it's going very well, based on the points. When Tourism British Columbia promoted the Olympic Games, it was done in six languages, but not in French. That's a complete insult. It could have been done in six different languages, but the French language was not on the web site. Is it that difficult? Then, after we filed a complaint with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, they answered that they weren't subject to the Official Languages Act because it was the City of Vancouver. I'll leave you with that. A lot of improvements have to be made, but I think you have to want to make them. They should follow the example of VIA Rail. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

We'll conclude with Mr. Nadeau.